Is Your Castle Comfortable?

We ask our customers,” Is your house comfortable?” As you can imagine, we get lots of different answers. ” I guess so, I don’t really know, yes, no, most of the house, etc.

 

Of ‘Couse, what is a comfortable house?  Our basic definition is a house that meets your temperature and humidity conditions, has a good air quality, and not drafty or dusty.

 

Most folks like to point the blame of being uncomfortable or having uncomfortable areas of their house on their air conditioning and heating systems. They think their system is to blame. This may only be a small cause of their issue.

 

What we see most often is their house is sick. Your house is a system and your heating and cooling system/s is part of that larger house system. Poor duct work or duct design contributes to a huge part of a house not being comfortable or having even temperatures throughout. If the ducts are not sealed or sized correctly, there may be too much or most often, not enough conditioned air delivered to each room make that area uncomfortable.

 

Another equally important consideration is how the house was built. How was it framed? What type of foundation does it have? How is it insulated? What type of insulation? Is the house very leaky (air leaks)? Is the house landscaped correctly? Does water drain away or drain to the house? Do all exhaust fans terminate outside the house or just in the attic or crawl space? Were the windows and doors made of a good quality material and actually sealed and flashed correctly? How old and efficient are your appliances? The answer to these questions may open your eyes and lead you to some real solutions to improve your situation.

 

Now you can ask your self is the AC or heating system really my problem at all? Most likely, it’s only part of the issue. What can you do?

 

·        You can be a DIY and make small improvements that will help your comfort and dust levels. An example would be to weather strip your doors and windows, seal any air leaks you find with calking that has low VOC’s. Add more insulation after you air seal to lower your heating and cooling bills.

·        Use shades or thermal-backed curtains for windows and sky light.

·        Have a professional test (Blower Door-Infiltrometer) your house to show you where your air leaks are coming from and seal what you can – it will make a big difference!

·        You can purchase indoor air quality products to improve the air you breathe.

·        Have a HVAC professional evaluate or tune-up your heating and cooling equipment.

·        Purchase EnergyStar rated appliances to save on energy costs.

 

There are many web sites you can visit to learn more about home performance issues and how to correct them and which issue should be given the most priority.

 

Check out these two sites: https://www.energystar.gov/, www.energy.gov

 

Your home is your castle. My castle is comfortable, is yours? If you are in our area (Chesapeake or Virginia Beach, VA) give us a call, we can help. 757-421-9790